Fastlane 2018 live stream: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch WWE PPV online

The Road to Wrestlemania is often one full of bumps and bruises and unexpected changes to the landscape of the WWE, and with one pay-per-view event to go before the wrestling world heads to New Orleans in April, WWE Fastlane could be one of the most perilous shows yet — especially to the Champions of SmackDown Live.

The main event of the night is not one that WWE Champion AJ Styles is looking forward to: a six-pack challenge match for his title. Facing off against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, and late addition John Cena, the odds are heavily stacked against Styles to retain his championship. But Styles is a fantastic performer, and with Cena’s growing desperation, Corbin’s eternal recklessness, Ziggler’s seeming apathy, and the growing discord between Zayn and Owens, there might just be a way for a wrestler of Styles’ exceptional caliber to find his hand being raised at the end of the match.

The other three title matches on the card are all affairs that we can easily expect to see turn chaotic, not least of which will be the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match between the title-holding Uso brothers and the longest-reigning tag champs in WWE history, The New Day. These two tag teams had a hellacious feud over the titles during the second half of 2017, with the belts trading hands several times before the Usos came out victorious once and for all. But the Uso twins have been through more brutal feuds since then, while the always-entertaining trio of Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston have had a chance to lick their wounds and learn from their mistakes. Any match between these two teams will be intense and can see anything happen — especially with the Tag Team titles on the line.

Speaking of intense, that might be the best word to describe the Riott Squad since their arrival on SmackDown Live after Survivor Series last year. They’ve cut a swathe through the Women’s Division since their arrival, and it’s finally time for their leader Ruby Riott to make her first bid for Charlotte Flair’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. Flair is already a legend of women’s wrestling, but Riott has a long and successful history of her own, performing at a high level in NXT after spending years as one of the best wrestlers male or female in the independent circuit. With Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan backing Riott up outside the ring, there’s going to be very little room for Charlotte to work with, and even less room for any kind of mistakes — if Charlotte trips up at all, Riott will be right there to punish her severely for it. This might be the toughest title defense Charlotte has ever had.

The United States Championship match between champion Bobby Roode and Randy Orton promises to be just as chaotic, especially with the specter of Jinder Mahal looming over the match. The former WWE Champion has been fighting tooth and nail to get a crack at Roode’s title, but was frustrated to have the match booked without him, despite managing to stand tall over both Roode and Orton during multiple encounters since the Royal Rumble. There’s a very strong chance he interferes in this match to set up something down the line between all three men — but he might not get a chance to with Roode wanting to build his legacy through a long run with the U.S. Championship, and Orton desperately wanting to win the one title in WWE that has always eluded him.

The card also brings us action from Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura, who has mostly been quiet since that monumental victory. But he did win a match against Rusev’s tag partner and entrance singer Aiden English recently, leading to Rusev getting into a war of words with Nakamura backstage two weeks ago before challenging him to a match at Fastlane. Rusev hasn’t exactly been in the best form in the ring over the last year, but when he’s on he’s one of the best wrestlers in the company, making him a stern test for Nakamura leading up to his match against the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 34.

When: Sunday, March 11, 8 p.m. ET

Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Watch it: WWE Fastlane will be carried live on the WWE Network, which is offering a free month to new subscribers.

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